Chapter 29 Section 12 Chess and Ancient Folk Songs

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the vigorous development of chess activities among the people was not only clearly reflected in the novels written by literati at that time, but also confirmed in the popular folk songs, folk songs, miscellaneous songs and minor tunes at that time. Feng Menglong, an outstanding popular writer at the end of the Ming Dynasty, often went to and from opera bars and taverns when he was in his prime.Because he had the opportunity to get in touch with the public class more extensively, he was very familiar with the life of the people and citizens.He collected ditties that were popular at that time between song houses, brothels and Shifang Luxiang, and compiled them into two collections of folk songs, "Guangzhier" and "Folk Songs".Among them, there is a ditty in tune that reflects the folk chess activities at that time.

For example: "Guazhier · Yongbu Eight Volumes" has a love song titled "Chess": "When you are bored, take the chess and play it. I want you to be a scholar and a elephant, and you can take charge of your home. The pawns move forward, don't talk back. You must learn to drive straight, not like a horse running obliquely. If someone blocks me Siqing also, I will shoot like a cannon." The tune "Guangzhier" was popular in the north of my country at first, and then spread to the south. In the end, "it doesn't matter whether it's north or south, male or female, old or young, good or bad, everyone learns it, and everyone likes to listen to it."It was all the rage at the end of the 16th century, and its singing flourished.Although the specific date of creation of the "Xiangqi" ditty quoted here is unknown, it can be said with certainty that it is a popular folk song after Wanli in the Ming Dynasty.The lyrics use naive impromptu metaphors, the heroine's painstaking persuasion to her husband, and the words that never allow her husband to change his mind, all reflect the thoughts of the citizen women class, with obvious characteristics of the times and society.

Love songs are the main content of Shitiao ditties in Ming Dynasty.Most of the authors of love songs are good at capturing the characteristic things in daily life, and vividly describe the various thoughts and feelings of people in love life through metaphors, symbols, puns and other expressive techniques.Due to the prosperity of citizen chess during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, it was often collected by the creators of Shidiao ditties, composed into songs and widely sung, so love songs using chess as a metaphor are quite common.There are also two poems chanting "Chess" in the volume six of "Four Sentences of Miscellaneous Songs" in the folk song collection "Folk Songs" compiled by Feng Menglong:

"I took away chess and played Go. My sister said to me, you taught me (Ran Yan) to move around with puns. In the middle of the game, I had to play with a potter's wheel and tie knots. I will die and return to him." "Take away Go and play chess, and you have to guard against two-ribbed carts with stone cannons. I only say that you have two horses and drink springs to fork a hornsman, and Luo Dao. You are a pawn who puts your heart into teaching me that it is difficult to move." The above two love songs chanting chess were also included in Feng Menglong's "Huangshan Mystery" edited by him. The lyrics are basically the same except for some slight differences.Some chess terms in the lyrics are puns.The pistol, the two-ribbed cart, and the two-horse drinking spring are all metaphors for the opponent's active attack on us for courtship, while the crossed horns allude to our rejection of love, and the pawn's heart refers to the rejection we have built. Love's defense system was cleverly breached by the opponent, and the opponent finally firmly occupied his heart.This is equivalent to subtly telling the other party through this chess love song: your courtship has succeeded.The whole song uses puns of chess terminology to express feelings between men and women, which is quite interesting.If it weren't for both men and women being good at chess and understanding the meaning of the terminology of chess layout and endgame killing method, this kind of song would never be created.Assuming that chess was not popular among the people at that time, such songs would never be widely sung and understood by ordinary citizens.

The above-mentioned chess songs fully reflect the fact that chess is prevalent among the people in Wu-language areas in the south of the Yangtze River. "Folk Songs" Volume 7 "Secret Love Miscellaneous" contains another "Chess" love song, the lyrics are: "Acquaintance with an affair is like chess, and it takes a lot of effort to meet an opponent. He has a stone cannon, and I have a soldier to support him; he uses pawns to push in, and my horse will move evilly (slanted). Sister Dao Lang, you show your son The general wants to arrest me and make him a general, and little Anunu also has a treadmill situation and is in a bad position."

This folk song uses chess as a metaphor for a man and a woman getting acquainted. During the Qianlong and Jiaqing periods of the Qing Dynasty, the wind of chess was very popular in both the south and the north. Some folk literati took chess as the theme and compiled folk songs, which were widely sung.For example: Hua Guangsheng in Licheng, Shandong, in the second volume of "Bai Xue Yi Yin" (engraved in the eighth year of Qing Daoguang) compiled by him, there is a poem "Matou Tune·Playing Chess": "Clean and clean the front of the hall, wipe the table, and play chess. Everyone who plays chess is destined. If you lose chess, don't hurt your friendship. If you have cannons, I have carts and chain horses. Look. Where are you going, veteran? At that time, don’t blame us for being ruthless.”

This folk song seems to be chanting a folk chess hall, where people from all over the world can come to play chess. This is undoubtedly a good place for some chess fans at that time.